Car Needs Work and Love
by Devin Trinidad
Summary: Three different scenes featuring Tobey's car and his relationship with the girl who just won't get off his case.


"_**What really interests me is whether God had any choice in the creation of the world."**_

-_**Albert Einstein **_

He was sixteen when he decided to get a new car.

It was an idea, from the oh so brilliant mind of his to woo his beloved into going on a date with him. However, he knew that without his mother's permission to buy a new car, his diabolical plan to get with Wordgirl, he was pretty much… well superhero-less. If there was one thing that Tobey had learned over the years was that in order to make himself known, he had to build it. And so, as he rummaged through miraculously intact vehicle doohickeys in the junkyard, he was surprised to see _her_.

_She _was standing at some secluded part of the dump, probably got lost or something. He didn't care. All he wanted was to get a rise out of the girl and be done with it.

Pfft, if you think it was the fabulous, well-poised girl he was crushing over, you were sadly mistaken. It was that stupid little girl, the mild mannered goody-two shoes who argued with him over everything. While it was much more beneficial to just ignore her presence in the junkyard, there was a question that was struggling to make itself known in his mind. Just what did she want with the junkyard?

So, with all the swagger that he could muster—Note: He kind of failed doing that—he made his way to the equally brilliant, if not slightly infuriating, Becky Botsford.

"Salutations," he called out in his customary British voice. He leaned on some of the trash as he relished in the surprise that overcame her features. My, he thought maliciously, that redness in her cheeks brings out her vulnerability. Of course, he also thought that she kind of looked cute, but he had a reputation to keep, dang it!

"Hello, Tobey," she grumbled as she regained a neutral expression. The redness that had appeared when Tobey startled her was starting to recede back into her normal complexion. It was a pity, Tobey began thinking, the color looked real nice on her, sort of like… The blonde resisted the urge to shake his head at the treacherous notions that resurfaced. Becky proved countless times that she wasn't Wordgirl, so why did he keep on going after that theory? Maybe he needed counseling.

"What?" He mocked her. "No special treatment for your favorite rival for today? You cannot think of a coherent sentence to reply to me?" His eyes gleamed at the thought where he could finally win for once. "Could this be the day where I finally convince you that I'm far more superior?" He egged on. He didn't know it, but he was completely crossing the line. If he had known that his witty classmate was out of this world, he would have held his tongue and left it that. As it was, the young man hopped over the neon blinking sign that read **DO NOT CROSS **in bold letters and did a victory jig on it.

To be honest, that boy was full of himself, and didn't Becky know it.

It was time to teach that inventor a lesson, with or without robot destruction to provoke her wrath.

She rounded on him so fast; he nearly fell flat from her very fast mood change from apathetic to a ferocity that rivaled even his mother's. He nearly soiled himself in fear whenever he thought about how loving his mother can be when it came to punishing him. Becky was that scary.

"First of all, Tobey," she seethed out his name," I have the vocabulary that is far more impressive than the average person. Secondly, I engage in conversation not to challenge people, but to derive exhilaration and contentment from it. Furthermore, discussions and banters are fine, but when you do it, you are so condescending, I feel like I'm talking to an outdated old man! And thirdly, I treat everybody equally, I think that everybody is equal, and I don't think that you deserve to gain the right to be 'superior!'" After her rant that concluded with some intense staring on her part, she decided to turn away from him and walk back to her original position.

Undeterred by her cutting statements, the blonde genius sauntered after her, wanting to blow up this conversation to much bigger proportions. As she was examining some parts of a robot that seemed to be designed by an incompetent villain, he smirked and closed in on her personal bubble.

"Cheer up, Becky! Even if you are one of the most highly regaled linguists in the city," his voice turned threatening at this part," you will always be ranked second best to me!"

"I never knew you took lessons from Victoria," the dark haired girl mused as she tried in vain to ignore him. It was not a really good attempt, but the girl wanted to rile him as much as possible. Who knows? Maybe he might get the idea that _she didn't want him there. _

"That haughty, arrogant spawn of narrow minded people?" Becky turned back to him to see that he had wrinkled his nose in a childish manner. "You wound me. I would never stoop that low to that girl's infuriating interferences with my beloved!" At that last part, Tobey's eyes glazed over as he whispered sweet nothings in his mind.

If Becky were anyone else, she would have slapped him and called it a day. However, she had far more maturity than that of most of her peers and instead, slapped her forehead to release the violence within her. Just when she thought Tobey was one the same page as her for once! Seriously, it was a wonder that Wordgirl didn't order a restraining order. (She knew the answer to that, but Tobey didn't have to know, did he?)

"But you would stoop low enough to destroy the city just to get the attention of someone who would rather not interact with you," Becky pointed out. Why was she having this conversation in the first place? It wasn't as if she was enjoying the dialogue, really? All it did do, however, was stimulate her brain and keep her on her toes…which hardly anyone ever did when Becky conversed with other people, making Tobey special in that aspect, but that was besides the point. Besides, they were archrivals! Stress on the word, archrivals.

"Is Becky Botsford actually concerned for my welfare?" He placed a hand on top of his heart as if he was swooning in front of Wordgirl—don't mind the girl who looked EXACTLY like her if you look closely—and he grinned with a shadow of foreshadowing. "She will be mine and we will have ice cream together!" He laughed.

To his surprise, his arch nemesis in school started laugh as well—albeit, it was for making fun at him.

"That's it," she cried out as she slapped her hand on her exposed knee underneath her skirt. "You're going after the most adored hero in the state just to treat her to ice cream!"

Looking very irritated by Becky's off putting comments he shot back," If it makes you feel better, I'm going to make her pay for the ice cream, so there!" He crossed his arms in victory as he watched the girl raise a slender eyebrow.

She fell to the ground—not minding her clothes—and started guffawing harder than before.

"Are you really serious? You think that you're going to get the girl by doing that," her deep brown eyes steadied and sobered as she stood up again. "I don't know if you got this Tobey, but I think Wordgirl would give you a chance if you didn't play the role as the villain."

"And what makes you say that. That beautiful girl that flies up in the sky with no boundaries in her life is playing hard to get, that's all. The only reason you're saying that is because you're saying it from your point of view so that sort of wooing _would work on you…"_ his voice trailed as he made his own assumptions. He looked at his enemy and immediately searched her eyes, finding nothing but curiosity, expectations, and a challenge. Just what was she doing telling him this stuff—OH. "Are you crushing on me? Is that why you're giving me tips?"

The girl stiffened and glared at the boy as he appeared to be completely oblivious to the fact that she was trying to help him get a date with the city's resident hero. Just what was going through his mind when he said that? No force on heaven or earth was going to make her fall for this British fraud!

"Can't you accept a word of some advice from a neutral third party?" Becky snapped as Tobey still eyed her with some flirty motions—winking, and lots of it—and a hint of distaste to complete the look. "Just because I'm trying to help with your fruitless quest on getting your dream girl—"

"Wordgirl, that's her name if you forgotten."

"—doesn't mean that I'm interested!" Her deep brown orbs rolled in their sockets as she observed the boy still showing off that nonexistent swagger of his. Geeze, he was a snotty bugger, yes?

"Well," as he moved closer, trying not to attract attention to his only companion," I'm interested in you…"

"What—?" The girl was so startled that her jaw hit the floor and took a few tries to move it back to its original position.

"Why are you here," Tobey responded condescendingly.

"Bob needed supplies for some project that he's working on," the female responded with much nonchalance she could muster while she watched Tobey getting thrown off by that statement. She secretly reveled in the fact that she pulled a fast one on him this time.

"What would your monkey want with articles from this abhorrent graveyard of decay?" He could care less, but still… Maybe he could finally prove that she was Wordgirl or something.

"He's planning to go out into outer space with a homemade spaceship." A knowing grin could be found on her tanned skin. She was, after all Wordgirl, what could you expect? But Tobey didn't know that.

"Your monkey's much more imbecilic than I thought," Tobey exclaimed conceitedly. "No one competent in this city—besides myself—can create a rocket ship, much less a monkey."

Death was upon him on that instant.

"How dare you insult my best friend like that! What's more, you mocked his pride on being a great engineer behind his back! At least try to consider someone else's feelings before letting your mouth fly like that!" Becky screamed. Without knowing it, she had marched up to his face and their noses were barely touching. "So what if you can create robots in a short amount of time—"

"An hour tops," he puffed his chest in a lame attempt to divert her attention.

"That does not matter! What matters is that you only care about destruction! Once you make a friendship, you usually end it, your robots always end up in the trash heap at the end of the day, and you hurt people's feelings ALL THE TIME!" Tobey could have sworn that her eyes had turned a dark shade of red at that point.

He crossed his arms to show his disinterest in whatever Becky was saying and turned away from her angered face.

"You people can't take criticism well. If Bob were here, he would be glad that I was giving him the time of day to tell him that he wouldn't be able to create his own spaceship," the blonde retorted. He glanced back at Becky with a self-satisfied smug smile.

"If Bob were here—? Why you! You have no right to talk about Bob like that, and you have no right to judge other people as idiots!"

Nonplussed, Tobey fired back with his own campaign.

"Idiots? Is that the best you can do? What about imbeciles, blockheads, morons, boneheads, dimwits? Are you scared that I have a wider vocabulary than you?"

"Why should I be scared of a boy who is so insecure that he has to compensate for his robots to fight his battles for him!" Becky demanded.

"I am not insecure!"

"Then why do you always announce your presence when you arrive at school! On top of a robot's shoulder no less!"

"Smart people should get a fanfare whenever they make a presence at a public construction!"

"Then explain why I don't complain when I DON'T do anything about my arrival?"

"Well—"

"Are you saying that I'm not smart?" Becky hollered. "At least I'm smart enough to know that Wordgirl will never go for a guy like you!"

"Shut up!" Tobey was officially upset by Becky's insults and truths that his American accent began to slip into his speech. "Just because you're jealous for my fancying Wordgirl doesn't mean that you have to treat me like this—like a child."

"Are you even listening to yourself? You treat everyone like they're below you! I don't even know why I'm even talking with you." Her already cold ice sharpened and hardened to a glare that select few had ever seen. "This is pathetic, and I bet Bob is done with scavenging," she shook her head as if to get rid of her encounter with the boy genius and pivoted on her heel. It was time for her to go and she didn't want to exchange bullets with Tobey anymore. "Good luck with whatever you're doing."

Swallowing back the guilt that had welled at the back of his throat and burned his chest, Tobey sat near some rubbish heap and started to think. If Becky was actually acting charitable today, was she telling the truth about Wordgirl not liking him simply because he blatantly displayed his intelligence? Disbelief swam into his consciousness; the thought that he failed to date that witty girl all those years because he couldn't say please or act polite disgusted him. If that was the case—his not acting like a gentleman—then why didn't she tell him earlier? Scuffing his shoes against the dirt, he began to mutter angrily.

"Becky just doesn't understand, she just needs to learn to stop meddling with other people for once," his voice came out hollow. It was as if Becky's cold and just filled words were finally having an impact on him, but he DID NOT want to admit defeat. Although he knew was lying to himself, he tried his hardest to convince himself that Miss Botsford was the villain in this case.

The vigor that he had brought with him because of the prospect of making himself a car had disappeared.

"But I really don't care, do I?" With that, he dusted off imaginary dust from his clothing and marched off the metal parts of the dump. He was going to show her that he was going to get the most wanted girl in the city. He was going to create a car and Becky won't be able to look him in the eyes because she would know that he was going to win the next round.

And so, he began to create.

* * *

_**An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing which has never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down to a town meeting or a vestry.**_

_**-Thomas Jefferson**_

He was eighteen when he decided to cruise around the block, explore some shortcuts, and just go back home.

It was nearly a year since he last encountered the plucky heroine for some destruction and an invitation for a date.

It took only one month for boredom to chain him down.

The reason for this sudden influx of idleness and wanting to just go out? He had encountered Wordgirl as usual a year before—like I told you—and he had an army of fifty robots. Wanting to cast a lasting impression on his ability to create this army, he also held a bouquet of roses to Wordgirl. These roses, he made sure, were the exact color of the hero's cape and suit. Although flattered, the brunette gave him back the roses and offered to let him go if he disabled his robots. Heart crushed, Tobey had unleashed a slew of his creations upon the city.

Unknown to Wordgirl, he had lied and had installed hundreds of his inventions underneath the city. However, he had forgotten to take into account that while he had improved into the durability of his machines, his nemesis had also become even stronger than ever before—and prettier. When the battle was over, he placed into house arrest—he was seventeen then and was not old enough to be imprisoned. During that time, he had thought over the years of heartbreak, disappointment, and how amazing it was that his ears still remained intact after all this time.

During his just incarceration by the hands of his mother and District Attorney Botsford he was allowed to interact with a few select individuals; mom, the DA, the DA's kids, and his psychiatrist. That last person on the list was probably for his mother's benefit, not his. It probably gave her piece of mind to see that her only son was not going to end up like some crazed murderer who was hell-bent on destruction. It wasn't as if he wanted to kill countless innocent lives, all he wanted was a date! That problem could have been solved if _she _agreed to it a long time ago, but no! She had to act all stubborn and get him into this mess.

His hands that were on the steering wheel that he had modified back when he was still creating his car, were now gripping it like it was his last lifeline. His knuckles that were already pale from not going out into the sunlight that often turned whiter; the bone seemed to show through. As he concentrated on letting go of his anger, he happened to glance up from his ministrations and look out his passenger window.

There was a girl, a young lady who wore a casual outfit consisting of green t-shirt, a red flowing skirt, and black flats. The blonde sighed as he realized that Becky Botsford never changed when it came to fashion. What really caught his attention—because it wasn't the clothing—was the fact that she was crying. Not the world-is-so-beautiful crying—which Tobey saw Violet do on many occasions—but some full out sobbing on a bench. Her tears, which spiraled down her face like attended watercolors, darkened her green shirt, causing her to look like she had thrown up on it. Now, Tobey had two options; go away and forget what happened, or he could actually act like a gentleman for once and give her a tissue.

He thought for a moment as he contemplated on his future actions.

As usual, that impudent woman forced his hand into her problems when she abruptly stopped crying when she realized that he was impolitely gawking at her. Wiping her tears and all those germs that collected on her face and onto her arms, she glared at him for a few seconds before stalking away from the scene of the crime. As per usual, Tobey mistook that for a sign of defiance, so he decided to get out of his car and follow her.

"Tobey, whatever you do, stop following me." That reaction was expected.

What was unexpected was that she began to run away from him, faster to be concerned with whether or not she was going to bump into something. Usually, she wasn't a physical person when it came to confrontations; she would have stopped and talked with him—insulted more like it—in order to make him go away. The tears and anger that was evident in her eyes was more than enough information to let Tobey know that he was treading on eggshells—a territory that he rather not face. Summoning the strength to remain patient with his newfound trial, he followed after the hysteric girl.

Twists and turns later—how the heck did he keep up with her?—Becky finally slowed down and slumped to the ground in an alleyway, defeat showing clearly on her face. Guessing that he was probably red in the face from chasing after her, he allowed himself a slight reprieve from their crazed antics. Leaning over and clasping his hands over his knees he breathed in and out in order to relieve himself of the carbon buildup within himself and allowing oxygen back in.

"You can sit down you know." It was weird; it was as if Becky didn't break a sweat after running around nonstop for fifteen minutes. Nevertheless, despite the invitation, Tobey declined.

"Mother would kill me if I messed up my pants," he huffed out with difficulty.

"After still this time, you're still a momma's boy?" Becky raised her eyebrow before wiping her still puffy red eyes.

"Don't judge me," Tobey bit out harshly," It's either jail or my mother and frankly, I love my mother."

"I'm not judging you by your choices in that matter, I'm just going to ask, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be at home?"

Tobey scoffed as he finally stretched from his hunched over position and glared reproachfully at Becky. "I was, but mother wanted me to go out and exercise for a bit," at her disbelieving expression, Tobey explained," she's finally trusting me for once."

"You're not going to build anymore robots?" Was there a light of hope in her eyes?

"Of course I'm going to keep on building robots, it's in my blood!" He cried out, indignant.

"But you said—"

"I know what I said, but this time, I'm not going to use it for destruction," Tobey muttered. He hated showing weakness in front of other people, especially in front of his enemies. "I was thinking of getting some of my inventions patented and start my own company."

"Really," Becky piped up. For once, as Tobey glanced over in surprise, she seemed happy for him. A hint of pride at his accomplishment at becoming a model citizen shined through. Oddly, he felt a sense of warmth overcome him when her deep chocolate eyes met his. "That's great!"

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes, as he carefully sat on the ground next to the ground near Becky. "Now, why were you crying prior to this conversation?"

"Not telling." Dang, that stubborn streak of hers was going to kill her one-day, he was sure of it. Well then, it was time to satiate his hunger for knowledge by reverting to drastic measures; reverse psychology.

"Then, I suppose I can always ask Violet what happened, eh?" The effect that had on the girl was astonishing. Seeing that one of Becky's flaws was that she prided herself on not burdening grief to her friends, Tobey struck her vulnerable side.

"No, no you don't have to! I-it's just that…" she faltered as she caught Tobey's cobalt eyes with her own. "My, uh, Pretty Princess Figurine that was handcrafted from the sweetest of petals and most radiant of gems went, er missing?" She phrased her answer like a question, enough of a tip off to the blonde. If Tobey were renowned for his rudeness, he would slap himself on the face and laughed at her VERY obvious lie.

"The truth, Becky," he warned with a concealed threat," out with it."

The brunette remained silent as she stared at the ground, trying to ignore the boy genius for the moment. With a sigh that showed he was really annoyed by her ability to act like a child when he was for once trying to be a good guy. The irony of the situation called to him, so he decided to do something that would astound him forever; he invited her to ride with him in his car.

"Kidnapping me? Isn't that a little low, even for you?" While she was joking on the outside, she was seriously asking whether or not he had actually changed within the last few months.

"Relax, Botsford, consider this a bribe to get information that you desire to keep hidden."

Hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans, he led the way to his handcrafted car. Granted, it wasn't really much a of a looker, seeing that it did come from a junkyard, but it made Tobey proud that he owned such a convenience. While most hormonal teenage boys would swoon over installed speakers and what kind of engine the hood housed, the blonde had the advantage of installing some _useful _items. He handcrafted items such as rockets that could be activated by a button, jetpacks for an even quicker getaway, and an ice cream maker. The last item on the list was not exactly villainous, per se, but its not like anyone knew that he made it.

As the two adversaries sat in the small space of the car, they sat in relatively uncomfortable silence when the car roared to life and carried them away from the park. From experience, Tobey knew that Becky's pride was going to hold out for an immeasurable amount of time. He knew that it would much be better to make her a little more contented before going in for the juicy details of her situation.

"Do you want ice cream?" Real smooth, Theodore, he scoffed at himself, real smooth.

A bewildered expression, bordering on murderous, graced her features as she stared at Tobey dead in the eye.

"I'm having a bad day, I get insulted numerous times by yours truly, and then you offer ice cream? What do you take me for?"

"A girl that needs to cool down with…" He stopped at a stop sign as he rummaged through several buttons at the console," some chocolate ice cream?" Robotic hands whirred around, seemingly noiselessly as they handed his passenger a bowlful of aforementioned ice cream.

"You didn't poison this, did you," Becky asked when she scrutinized the icy confection. "If you did, that's a one way ticket to prison."

"Your words wound me, but no, I did not." He smirked when Becky finally relented into the heaven of frosty deliciousness before driving at the sight of the green light. "Besides, poisoning vulnerable women is not forte."

"But you sure do have a lot of experience trying to woo them," the brunette quipped innocently.

"She would have said yes sooner or later," Tobey tried to save face. "If I had taken her out officially for one time for ice cream, I swear she would have fallen for me!" A maniacal gleam entered into his eyes as he recalled of his glory days as a major villain in the city.

"Fallen for your car, more like," Becky intervened into his little… rant of his obsession. "Did you actually create this? I never took you for the type to like cars."

"What do you mean, not the type to like cars?" Tobey frowned. Although he deemed the statement a bit of an insult towards his manliness, he did give himself a pat on the back. It had seemed that his companion had let down her guard for the time being. It was now relevant towards success that he attack the issue now, God forbid failure.

"Well, you always seemed to be that person you can always count on as being unique. Different." Her deep brown eyes examined him with intensity so strong; he thought he would melt into a puddle of goo. Taking his silence as some type of negative answer, she tried to make up for it by apologizing. "Where are my manners? I didn't mean different as something bad, but…"

"That's fine, you don't need to explain yourself to me," he waved it off. "Not everyone can have the same command over the English language as I do." Even in the heat of battle, he still retained that haughtiness that was often associated with the British accent.

Her hand twitched like she was contemplating whether or not to attack him. Luckily, Tobey saw that and tried to justify his actions by chuckling a bit.

"I was joking, since when have your knickers been in a twist? Oh yes," he pretended to ponder," ever since I saw you bawling out your eyes at the park."

Flushing madly, she looked ready to stab him with her plastic spoon that had been provided by the robots installed in the car. Inwardly, half of Tobey could hear himself cheer at the sudden influx of emotion; he was going to finally get some responses! The other half of Tobey was desperately wishing for a god out there to take pity on him; a guy did not want to die with a spoon sticking out from his forehead.

"Do I _really _need to tell you," Becky grumbled as she waved her utensil around. Even if she did protest the sudden barging in on her personal life, she kind of found it sort of touching to see that at least one person was trying to comfort her. True, he still acted quite villainous at times, and he wasn't the best person to talk to when a personal tragedy occurs, Tobey seemed to be charitable to oblige for once. Plus, his ice cream was to die for.

"Resistance to my ice cream is futile, you have ten more seconds to comply with my demands, or your ice cream will be taken away," he threatened in a joking manner.

"Har har, Tobey, very funny," she rolled her eyes as she gulped down the spoonful of ice cream that made its way down her mouth. "If you must know Scoops rejected me today."

Silence reigned for a few seconds before Tobey had a say in things.

"That's it. No buildup, no nothing? Gosh, you really don't want to beat around the bush for this insignificant matter, do you?" Tobey kind of thought that she would have lost face at her confession, as she remained calm with her little bowl of ice cream. He kind of felt bad for her. Then again, anyone who had seen Violet and Scoops together would have seen the two as a couple. "Looks like you didn't get the memo about Scoops and Violet."

"Yeah, Scoops said that he didn't like me in that way, "she scrunched up her nose in a melancholic manner. In a manner that Tobey found oddly _cute._"It's not that I didn't notice that they seemed so natural together… It's just that I didn't want to believe they were, well, meant to be together," she glared at the melting chocolate that swam in her glass bowl. If one were to look closely, they would see that moisture was gathering at the corners. Discreetly, as to not reveal weakness, she dabbed at them hastily. "As corny as that sounds, now I know how you feel."

The car that was cruising smoothly down the road almost stuttered to a halt when his ears picked that up.

"What do you mean, now you know how I feel," he questioned, obviously confused.

"Back when you were crushing on Wordgirl, remember?" A humorous glance was thrown his way, eyes free from tears. "Or did you bash your head so frequently from boredom that you forgot about why were you under house arrest again?"

"Bashed my head against the wall? Yes. Forgot about why I was under incarceration? No. In fact, the months when I was grounded got me thinking about that whole debacle with Wordgirl… and me." His hands tensed on the steering wheel as memories that he rather not reminisce about exploded into his stream of consciousness at surprising speed. His plans to win her over, the failures that would result afterwards, and the inevitable punishment that would occur made his vision go red. Suddenly, he exhaled and smiled coolly at the girl that sat beside him. "I did not act like a gentleman did I? I guess I would have to apologize then, huh?"

"You would do that?" Surprise and suspicion were easily displayed on her features. "Why apologize now, your pride won't let you do that."

"I misjudged you, you really are something you know that?" He smiled softly at Becky as he turned on her driveway. "By the way, I _would _apologize, but she probably won't let me seeing that I can't be within a five hundred feet radius from her."

Eyes twinkling with mischief, Becky licked her spoon and said in a manner of fact way," You never know, she might actually believe that you turned over a new leaf."

"Do you believe that I turned over a new leaf?" Some type of radiance, previously unknown to other people, sprung to life in his eyes. There was a hidden message in those eyes, pleading for actually some hope to be left for him in the world. It was a sight so uncharacteristically heartrending that Becky answered without hesitation.

"Why not? People, especially criminals, always deserve a second chance."

Tobey thought for a moment before deciding on the next course of action. This was going to be hard for him, but he knew that it would be far more beneficial to move on now rather than later. With vigor that was often associated with his asking to date Wordgirl, he turned to Becky and grinned.

"Great. I'll pick you up next Saturday for ice cream."

"Sure, wait what?" Her eyes, glad that he was trying to be a better person, were now frozen in shock. Why was he asking her out all of a sudden?

"You didn't seem too sure that I reverted to a model citizen, so I'm going to prove it to you," he boasted eagerly. "Think if it as a challenge: if I win, you get to have bragging rights; if I lose…" His cobalt eyes seemed to capture Becky's deep brown ones," Then I'll have an annoying girlfriend."

"By asking me out on a date?"

"What better way to get to know each other?"

"You have a point, but as friends!" A little something stirred in her soul as she answered the boy.

The boy she had come to fall in love had rejected her today. Now, it seemed that life was going to pair her up with this insolent child who just wanted an excuse to get out of the house and get ice cream! Yet, she knew that it would be hypocritical to say no and be done with it. The teen would reject him on Saturday, when they were still…friends.

She couldn't explain the coldness that seemed to envelope her body just then.

"Whatever you say, milady."

* * *

_**A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short. **_

_**~Andre Maurois**_

A car, red in color and far more advanced than other models of the day could be seen enjoying the driving towards a city up ahead. Inside the vehicle were two young adults, looking very much in love and quite worried. You see these two had an appointment to keep and that included going to the girl's parent's house for… but I'm getting ahead of myself. Tobey was twenty-five and he had a girlfriend of seven years, his long love, Becky Botsford.

After their ice cream "date" a few years back, they decided to hang more and more often, resulting in the two to become closer than ever before. Of course, the unlikely duo had their fair share of arguments, but it was resolved in the end. For example, the car that Tobey was currently driving was a result of a petty quarrel that the two had engaged in.

While Tobey favored his old car to drive back to their childhood home, Becky refused, saying that it was a death trap on wheels. That got the blonde genius upset because it was the pride of his life! He worked on her for several months before deeming her presentable and ready to showcase her metal beauty to the rest of the world. Slightly jealous—and amused—of the car's princess treatment, Becky stated that he probably would get married to a hunk of metal and that would be VERY pathetic. Arrogance clouded his mind as he defended his ability to be better than other people… Apparently he wasn't that bright when it comes to his girlfriend and her feelings. A terrible verbal brawl erupted between the two as they argued the pros and cons of giving away the baby of the family and replacing her something far less inferior. In the end, they grudgingly agreed that they would buy a new car and Tobey could modify it to his heart's desire.

"You think they'll lay off the Botdford Surprise," Tobey asked nervously as he adjusted the bowtie. "Plus, I don't think that—"

Becky laughed. She was agitated as well by visiting her family this year, Tobey in tow. This was going to be the first time Becky dreaded to see her family. Why was she so dang panicky all of a sudden? Well, it had something to do with a new comeuppance in her and Tobey's relationship. A change that Becky thought her parents might approve of. Hopefully.

"Seriously, they love you! Just try not to eat too much of the Super Duper Stroganoff of Epicness," Becky muttered hastily as she inwardly shuddered. "Even Bob had to think twice before eating that."

"Even him," Tobey gulped as he stopped at an intersection. "Not that I mind the sustenance your family provides us, but couldn't we have eaten at a restaurant? This is a _special occasion_ after all."

A tanned hand whacked at his head lightly enough just to make him recoil from her touch.

"Come on, Tobey," Becky rolled her eyes," sure it's a momentous occasion for us but they don't know that. Besides, I would love to consume some of mom's lasagna…" she groaned as her stomach growled from the nutritious images that had filtered into her head. "One of the most delightful food you can taste in the world." Unknowingly, she had placed her hand in between them

"Even better than me," Tobey joked. Slyly, he curled his hand around hers to keep their conversation casual.

"I don't know, maybe I have to consult Victoria Best for that," the brunette smirked as she tightened her grip on Tobey.

"Oh, not her! She's a horrible definition for the _best," _Tobey faked a moan. "Where's Wordgirl when we need her?"

A quick kiss silenced him and nearly made him bump into several cars along the way.

"Right here, Tobey." She whispered.

"Getting on the wrong side of the law, are we?" He winked seductively at her. "First, you fraternize with a former villain, start a relationship with him, and now you're living under the same roof with that guy? Talk about messing around, huh?"

"Are you going to arrest me now, Officer McCalister, or is there more to my crimes?"

"You're going to be heavily fined for wearing such a ravishing garment, Miss Botsford," he replied as he kissed her full on the lips. "Any complaints, because I'll be reciting your rights."

"Don't have to, we're at a holding cell right now."

Confused at her comment, Tobey looked away from the most gorgeous face that he had ever seen and through the windshield. Sure enough, they were miraculously parked in front of Becky's former residence. The windows were lit in a hearty glow, quite common when they were around the jolly family. Turning back to her, a cute undignified, pout was set on his face. Obviously, he was going to back out of this arrangement.

"Do we have to? We were really getting somewhere with our little chat," he whined. Due to Becky's death glare that caused him to shake his boots various times, he cut the engine.

"Relax, they're just my parents," she soothed as she smoothed his hair back with great affection. "They are a far cry from the villains I have defeated during my childhood and I doubt they'll attack you when they find out."

"TJ might," Tobey sulked as tried to turn away from her puppy dog eyes.

"Tobey, you might as well get up," Becky coaxed gently. "Trust me, resistance is futile when you're going up against a superhero, emphasis on super."

"I suppose that by prolonging my preordained destiny, I personally dug a hole chock full of blackmail later on that you'll tease me with," Tobey asked.

She nodded eagerly.

The blonde sighed as he analyzed all the outcomes that could transpire during the family get together.

"As long as they don't get rabid with me," he unintelligibly griped.

Becky slapped his head again for even more stimulus.

With gentleman like grace, Tobey swiftly made his way to his girlfriend's side and held out her door for her. They hooked arms as they strode onto the porch and rang the doorbell.

"Well, my good sir, any last words," Becky asked in fake British accent.

He glared ferociously at her as he tapped his shoes in a disconcerted manner.

"You're accent is horribly atrocious."

"Love you too."

They paused mid-banter when an aged gentleman pulled open the door and assaulted his eldest daughter.

"Holy magic pumpkins! Becky you're back! And Tobey too," the last part was said a little less enthusiastically than the rest of the greeting, but at least there was none of the malice that Tim usually displayed around the inventor.

"I know dad," Becky giggled as she hugged her father. "Sorry, we were late," she apologized. "Traffic was really hectic and Tobey kind of got himself into a few _compromising_ situations." She winked back at her boyfriend as she released her dad from the strong hold that he had on her. "So where's—"

A loud shriek pierced the air as the head of the family glanced at his daughter's hand.

Specifically at her left hand.

On her ring finger.

At the ring.

With a gold band and a diamond.

"Hey dad," Tobey began awkwardly as he stared at the door with great interest," we're sort of getting…erm, married."

Another shriek rang throughout the house, which also accompanied a few bodies dropping.

* * *

Admit it, I think I killed the characters. I think I singlehandedly killed, ate, pooped, burned, and drowned these characters. I think I destroyed their personalities so hard, it's not even funny. Seriously, tell me if they're too OOC, because I can't tell. *dies from the +7,000 words*


End file.
